ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Electronics & IT
Common Service Centres have the large potential to grow, says Sh Ravi Shankar Prasad
have the potential to grow exponentially todo financial transactions of Three lakh crore rupees in next five years. Addressing the CSC women Village Level Entrepreneurs  workshop here today, Sh. Prasadsaid that the CSC model has become very successful. Within 10 years of inception, 3.65 lakh CSCs have become operational and are undertaking financial transactions worth over 70,000 crore rupees.
The CSCs provide high quality and cost-effective video, voice and data content and services, in the areas of e-governance, education, health, telemedicine, entertainment as well as other private services. A highlight of the CSCs is that it offers web-enabled e-governance services in rural areas, including application forms, certificates, and utility payments such as electricity, telephone and water bills.
Sh Prasad called upon the VLEs, associated with Common Service Centres , to form Self-Help Groups to start a movement in the country. He said that India wants to promote self-help groups which can usher in big changes in villages and help in country’s development. “CSC has become integral part in the implementation of various Govt. schemes and delivery of service. I am happy to note that CSC has completed 10 Cr PMFBY registrations, 2.69 lakh registrations in Ayushman Bharat, 10.84 lakh Wi-Fi subscribers. VLEs are entrusted with maintenance of 1.25 lakh Bharat Net at Panchayat level and establishment of 1 lakh Digital Villages across the country. We are thankful to PM Shri Modi for his support. Government of India is promoting Self Help Groups. CSCs should make good SHGs of 100 women. I want to see SHG movement through CSC. Through CSC movement, we have made a new India digitally empowered, financially enabled and actively participate in nation building. Digital India is for all caste, creed and colour including SC/STs, Backwards, Tribes and Minorities,” Sh Prasad said. The Minister said that the best performing CSC will be given award of Rs. 10,000 and some of them will be sent abroad to showcase their achievements.
Speaking on the occasion, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Sh. Dharmendra Pradhan said that CSC has become an important government agency and it shouldbuild upon its strength in future to expand and consolidate. He said the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is already using the services of CSCs in booking and delivery of LPG cylinders. A new dimension to this collaboration is likely to be added by making CSC as PoS . He said it would be desirable if 25% of LPG distribution is routed through CSCs.
Shri Dhotre Sanjay Shamrao, Minister of State for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, and Human Resource Development,and Sh. Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology also spoke on the occasion.
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Ministry of Earth Sciences
Marine Litter in Oceans
The Ministry of Earth Sciences  is working towards containment of plastic usage with the institutes of the MoES by banning the single use plastics within their premises. Further, Institutes of MoES such as National Centre for Coastal Research , Centre for Marine Living Resources &Ecology , Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services  and National Institute of Ocean Technology  are conducting the beach clean-up activities. In addition, the Ministry is also engaged in creating awareness to the public on plastic waste pollution via conducting campaigns, lectures and series of webinars.
Ministry through NCCR is undertaking research activities in quantifying litter  in the beach, and microplastics in the water and sediment and in different biota including commercial fish, bivalves and Mollusca. Samples from coastal water, beach and offshore sediment, and biota are analyzed for micro/ meso/ macro plastics pollution. An increase in the abundance of microplastics is observed along the east coast during the monsoon. The stations nearer to the river mouth had higher numbers of microplastics concentrations. The Beach litter survey has revealed that the maximum accumulation occurs in the backshore than in the intertidal zone. Moreover, Urban beaches have higher accumulation rates than rural beaches. It is also noted that more than 50% composition of the majority of the waste on the beaches was contributed by single use plastics.
This information was given by the Minister of State  for M/o Earth Sciences and M/o Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Textiles
Textiles Committee signs Cooperation Agreement with UNEP to promote Sustainability and Circularity in Textile Value Chain
: Mumbai, October 12, 2022
The Textiles Committee  of Government of India has entered into a Cooperation Agreement with United Nations Environment Programme on “Mainstreaming Sustainability & Circularity in the Textiles Sector” to minimize the negative environmental impacts of the Indian textile industry by promoting sustainable practices where these exist and mainstreaming knowledge of circular production best practices in the textile and apparel sector. As part of this agreement, TC with the collaboration and support from UNEP will evolve campaign collaterals and campaign strategy, undertake campaign launch event and organise conference to build capacity of the Textile Value Chain on this important aspects in addition to undertaking social media campaign to raise awareness on Sustainability & Circularity in TVC.
The Cooperation Agreement was exchanged between the Secretary of Textiles Committee Ajit B Chavan and Head of UNEP India Country Office Atul Bagai in presence of Secretary  U.P. Singh.
A one-day Stakeholders Consultation on “Sustainability in the Textile Value Chain  in India” was also organized last week  in New Delhi to commemorate the World Cotton Day. Ms. Prajakta Verma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Textiles & other national and international stakeholders including UN Resident Coordinator in India, Ms. Shombi Sharp, UNIDO, ILO, GIZ officials during exchange of agreement between the two parties.
It may be noted here that the Textile Value Chain  plays an important role in the world economy but at the same time is also adversely contributing towards environment. According to estimates, the global textile industry emits 1.20 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year and it is estimated that every second an equivalent of one garbage truck of textiles is either burnt or land filled. Hence, it is difficult to visualise a sustainable world without sustainable fashion industry. As a major player in the Textiles and Apparel sector, India is also experiencing the challenge of balancing its growth in TVC with sustainability in production & consumption of textiles.
Though attempts have been made in past to attain sustainability in its value Chain, there is a need to address the issues of sustainability and circularity in the Textiles sector more holistically and in a focused and institutionalized manner if India has to achieve its leadership role in the sector in this environmentally conscious market. Keeping the above factors in mind, the United Nations Environment Programme  India and Textiles Committee have joined hand to support the Textile, Trade & Industry on this endeavor with proactive support and guidance of Ms. Prajakta Verma, Joint Secretary Fibre who is heading the newly created Sustainability Cell in the Ministry of Textiles.
Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding among BRICS Nations on Environmental Cooperation
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its ex-post facto approval for Memorandum of Understanding  signed among the BRICS Nations on Environmental Cooperation. The MoU was signed during the 10th BRICS Summit in July, 2018 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The MoU identifies the following stress of cooperation:
a) Air quality;
b) Water;
c) Biodiversity;
d) Climate Change;
e) Waste Management;
f) Implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals; and
g) Other areas of cooperation as mutually agreed upon by the Participants.
The MoU will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term, cooperation between the BRICS countries in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources on the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable Jaws find legal provisions in each country.
The concerns of rising environmental issues are not limited to any country hut pose a serious challenge to the entire Globe. The MoU acknowledges the responsibility of the BRICS nations, an association of the five major economies of the world i.e. Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa comprising of more than 40% of the population of the world, towards the protection, preservation and sustainability of the Environment.
The Memorandum of Understanding is expected to bring in the latest technologies and best practices suited for bringing about better environment protection, better conservation, and better management of climate change and wildlife protection/conservation. The MoU shall facilitate exchange of experiences, best practices and technical knowhow through both public and private sectors among the participating BRICS nations and shall contribute to sustainable development, protection and preservation of Environment. The Memorandum of Understanding also provides the possibility to have projects in areas of mutual interest.
Ministry of Electronics & IT
MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar interacts with over 450 Indian Startups on the recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank 
Indian Banking system is most robust and stable, Startups may explore using it: MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar
Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar interacted with over 450 startups, owned/co-owned by Indians, Venture Capitalists , Industry leaders & others stakeholders on the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank through video conferencing from New Delhi today. He assured them that the Narendra Modi government is laser-focused on helping them tide over this crisis.
The Minister said the Indian banking system was robust and suggested that they could explore using it, “Indian banking system is most stable & robust and you must explore it as part of your organisational framework. While startups have a natural incentive to use banks like SVB, we must figure out a way to use the Indian banking system without changing your business model.”
This consultation was part of the government’s approach to address the situation and offer any assistance to members of India’s innovation and startup ecosystem who had financial holdings in SVB. Startups like Zoth.Io, Hatica.Io and VCs and financial service providers like Blume VC and Mirae Asset were part of the meet.
Some of the concerns that were shared by the attendees included transfer of their US Dollar deposits to India and to US-based branches of Indian banks, among other issues.
The Minister thanked them all for sharing their suggestions and assured them the Government would do everything possible to navigate the storm caused by the bank collapse.
Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar said, “We will share list of suggestions with Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman and explore how best your concerns can be addressed. We will also explore how smoothly we can facilitate the transfer of your US dollar deposits to Indian banks, IFSC centred foreign banks or any other Indian bank which has presence in the United States.
The Minister also said that for those startups whose deposits were going to be made whole, but have no access to it currently, “We will explore the option of whether any credit lines can be made available in US dollar or Indian rupees. We will also try to see if more credit products like in the US, can be made available to you and make it easier for them to move from SVB to any other Indian Bank in the US.”
Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar assured the startups that they could approach CEO, MeiTY Startup Hub for any problems/issues that they were facing and the Government would do its best to help out.
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Ministry of Tourism
Ministry of Tourism promotes Small Hotels and Homestays to create entrepreneurial and job opportunities in rural areas
The Ministry of Tourism is responsible for the promotion of Tourism in the country and implements various schemes for creation of infrastructure, marketing and promotion, and skill development initiatives for tourism, which can be leveraged for the promotion and development of homestays and small hotels.
The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India through its voluntary scheme grants classification/approval including for 1-3 category of both new hotel projects and operational hotels as well as classification of heritage hotels, legacy hotels, motels, and homestays/B&Bs in the country, through the National Integrated Data of Hospitality Industry  portal. The classification and recognition accorded by the Ministry gives credibility to the accommodation unit.
Ministry of Tourism has also formulated a National Strategy for Promotion of Rural Homestays. One of the main objectives of this strategy is to create entrepreneurial and job opportunities in rural areas. The document, inter alia, emphasizes on the need for consideration of eligible Rural Homestay projects under schemes such as Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme  to promote self-employment, village industries and other schemes for promotion and development of MSME service enterprises under Central and State Governments.
Furthermore, the Ministry of Tourism has also formulated a National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India in consultation with line Ministries including Ministry of Women & Child Development, all State Governments, and industry stakeholders. The Strategy document aims at convergence of various schemes relating to, inter alia, empowerment of women so that opportunities in rural tourism are availed by women and tourism is able to act as a vehicle for development and empowerment of women.
Additionally, Ministry of Tourism under its Capacity Building for Service Providers  scheme has introduced a 150-hour Homestay course as a part of its reforms keeping in view the dynamic inputs received from the sector on the skill gap. The objective of the training program is to train those aspiring youth and homestay owners who have the potential to develop the Homestay business in the tourist spots across pan India including rural and inaccessible hilly areas. This program creates a sense of professionalism, high end skills in operation of homestay which result into endless number of sustainable Human Resource in tourism industry. In the NIDHI portal, the accommodation units cannot be segregated into small and big hotels including homestays during the registration stage.
This reply was given by Minister of Culture, Tourism and Development of North Eastern Region Shri G. Kishan Reddy in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
DRDO Celebrates National Science Day
National Science Day 2021 was celebrated in Defence Research & Development Organisation, DRDO Head Quarter in New Delhi today on 1st March, 2021 with great fervour. To mark the occasion, a special function was organised by Defence Science Forum. Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, Prof K VijayRaghavan was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The function was presided over by Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO Dr G Satheesh Reddy.
In his keynote address, Prof VijayRaghavan said that there is a significant amount of work being done by DRDO that epitomizes quality science. He appreciated the speed and quality of innovations by DRDO during the pandemic. He stated that “we are a design driven world, and our two major goals should be designing and manufacturing indigenously”. He further said that in this new era of partnership between DRDO and industry, we should have the capability to buy local and make local.
Secretary DD R&D and Chairman DRDO in his address congratulated the scientific community for its ongoing quest to achieve excellence and self reliance. He emphasised the need to concentrate on science in laboratories and academic institutes to come out with state of art technologies. He highlighted the requirement for a focus group in each DRDO laboratory to work on future technologies. Dr G Satheesh Reddy further said that it is very important for any nation to work on the fundamental side of science, for which the universities need to be made stronger, so that the nation can come out with quality products.
Forty-Seven research papers were received from various DRDO labs/establishments, out of which three research papers were adjudged best. Defence Science Spectrum, a compilation of the scientific papers received from labs of various clusters, was also released by dignitaries on the occasion. DRDO Science Day orations were delivered by scientists of three DRDO laboratories namely, Advanced Systems Laboratory , Hyderabad, Aeronautical Development Establishment , Bengaluru and Defence Research and Development Establishment , Gwalior.
National Science Day is celebrated each year on 28 February to commemorate the discovery of “Raman Effect” in 1928 by Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, which led to the Nobel Prize being awarded to him in the year 1930. The purpose of celebrating this day is to enhance scientific temper, popularization of science and encouraging innovative activities by infusing scientific temperament in the masses and to create a positive scientific research culture.
Defence Science Forum is a platform of DRDO where scientists of various discipline interact to foster fellowship, exchange of ideas with luminaries of different disciplines and feasibility and planning of all inter-disciplinary projects where expert opinion is required.
Director General , Life Sciences, and Convenor Defence Science Forum, Dr AK Singh, DG , Shri Sudhir Gupta, DG  Shri KS Varaprasad and DG  Ms Nabanita Radhakrishnan were also present on the occasion.
Prime Minister's Office
PM addresses Jan Abhar Rally in Dharamshala to mark one year of Himachal Pradesh Government
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, today addressed a Jan Abhar Rally at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, to mark the completion of one year of the State Government.
Before arriving on the dais, the Prime Minister visited an exhibition on government schemes. He also interacted with the beneficiaries of various schemes.
Addressing a large gathering, he praised the State of Himachal Pradesh, as a land of spirituality, and bravery.
He recalled that former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, had a special bond with the State.
The Prime Minister applauded the State Government for reaching people, especially those in the rural areas of the State in the last one year, through its schemes.
The Prime Minister said that the State Government is focusing on next-generation infrastructure. He said projects related to highways, railways, power, solar energy and petroleum sector, are all underway in the State of Himachal Pradesh.
The Prime Minister spoke at length of the tourism potential of the State. In this context he mentioned, that the number of foreign tourists coming to India, rose from 70 lakh in 2013, to 1 crore in 2017. Similarly, he said, the number of approved hotels in India in 2013, was about 1200, which has now risen to 1800.
The Prime Minister recalled that for forty years, our ex-servicemen longed for 'One Rank, One Pension'. He said that when his Government assumed office, the entire gamut of issues, and resources required was understood. Thereafter, OROP was implemented to ensure the welfare of our ex-servicemen.
The Prime Minister especially complimented the people of Himachal Pradesh for their commitment to cleanliness. They have accepted 'Swachhata' as a 'Sanskaar' , he added. This also augurs well for the tourism sector in the state, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister explained how the Union Government has curbed corruption. He said that through Direct Benefit Transfer, a check has been put on corruption and nearly Rs. 90,000 crore rupees has been saved.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Shri Vinit Kumar  takes over the charge of CEO, KVIC at Mumbai
Shri Vinit Kumar  takes over the charge of CEO, KVIC Central Office, KVIC Mumbai on 21.11.2022. He is appointed as CEO, Khadi & Village Industries Commission , Mumbai under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. He was welcomed by Shri Manoj Kumar, Hon’ble Chairman, KVIC at Central Office, Mumabi.
Shri Vinit Kumar, an IRSEE officer of 1993 batch, has served as the Chairman of Syama Prasad Mukherjee Port, Kolkata  before taking over as the Chief Executive Officer of Khadi and Village Industries Commission and also served as Chief Electrical Engineer in Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd. and looked after World Bank funded MUTP project before joining as CEO, KVIC. Shri Kumar joined administrative post of Secretary, Central Railway and gained experience in general administration. He worked in Central Railway in Mumbai suburban system, one of the densest suburban system in the world in maintenance and operations of rolling stock and traction installations. He also worked in Pune and Nagpur in independent charge of traction assets and locomotive workshop.
As Chairman of Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata, Shri Kumar has played a pivotal and dynamic role for the Port to achieve the highest cargo handling in two consecutive years of 2018-19 and 2019-2020, which surpassed all previous records in the 150-year history of the port. In addition to cargo handling, the Port achieved profitability of INR 60 crore for the first time in 150 years due to his thoughtful and energetic leadership. In a befitting mariner, glorious celebration of 150'h anniversary of Kolkata Port was graciously inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on 11th January 2020 under his skillful guidance.
Since joining the Port sector, Shri Kumar has played a key role in infrastructure development and capacity augmentation. Under his guidance, SMP Kolkata has handled cape vessels through trans loading at deep sea anchorages.
Shri Kumar has been instrumental in the growth of regional connectivity comprising neighbouring countries and North - East region. He has focused on excelling the business relations with Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand through various strategic initiatives.
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National Financial Reporting Authority
National Financial Reporting Authority seeks comments/suggestions from public and stakeholders on consultation paper on NFRA’s engagement with its stakeholders
National Financial Reporting Authority  has set up a Technical Advisory Committee  to, inter alia, provide NFRA with inputs from the perspective of various key stakeholders. The TAC has undertaken a consultative exercise to review NFRA’s engagement with its stakeholders, and has, in its report of March, 2021, recommended ways to enhance the same. Important recommendations of the TAC relate to formation of advisory/consulting groups, institution of fellowship programmes, publication of NFRA’s Inspection Policy, and building up of NFRA’s Regulatory Capacity.
NFRA acknowledges the valuable contribution of the TAC in this regard. NFRA has now prepared and published a Consultation Paper , incorporating its preliminary views, and proposed action plan, on the recommendations of the TAC and feels it appropriate to seek the comments/suggestions of the wider stakeholder group and the public at large on these recommendations/views/proposals. The last date for receipt of comments is 10 July 2021. The comments may be submitted by email at comments-tac.paper @nfra.gov.in.
About NFRA
National Financial Reporting Authority  was established by the Central Government in October 2018 with the fundamental objective of driving systemic change in the Indian Financial Reporting System for Public Interest Entities . NFRA has identified engagement with various categories of stakeholders as central in its strategy to deliver on its public interest mandate.